cliff. the president says he is optimistic that republicans will cut a deal to keep middle class taxes from going up 26 days from now. leaders in the g.o.p. say the president is forgetting about the other part of the deal. the spending cuts. let's get to ed henry live for us tonight. ed, what else did the president have to say today? >> well, shep, there is so much pessimism from the myan calendar and predictions i suppose to predictions congress can't get its act together and get this fiscal mess cleaned up. the president tried to have a different message. he is trying to say he is optimistic and thinks that when everyone has their say here over the next few days they are finally going to get a deal. take a listen. >> i'm not going to sign any package that somehow prevents the top rate from going up for folks at the top 2%. but i do remain optimistic that we can get something done that is good for families like this one and that is good for the american economy. >> now, the president expres